- Jul
- 3
Fourth of July Prime Safety Alert: Fireworks Can Endanger Animal Companions and Wildlife
Posted by Scott VanValkenburg at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
I’ll never forget the German shepherd I rescued while serving as a humane officer in the week proceeding the U.S. Independence Day holiday. My dispatcher contacted me to report that they had received calls regarding a strangling dog. Neighbors reported that the dog was aggressive and that the guardians were not home. I arrived minutes later to see the end of a chain coming out of the broken window of the door of a garage. I could see the dog desperately swinging his head as he dangled inside the door. There was blood streaked on and below the jagged glass and chain, so I knew the big guy was in trouble.
“Some kids were throwing fireworks at him and he freaked out and jumped through that window!” a neighbor woman told me. “Watch him—he hates everybody but his own family,” the woman continued. My bolt cutters quickly released the dog, and he stood, dazed, growling at me in the dark garage. Moving quickly, I reached through the window, unlocked the door, and slowly opened it. I could now see that one of his front legs was bloody, but not gushing. I gently used my control stick to move him to my air-conditioned car and was relieved that he put up no struggle as I slipped my arm around his chest to lift him into a cage.
Neighbors indicated that the kids who threw fireworks at the dog must be from another neighborhood, but they agreed to call the police if they sighted the little monsters. Our vet stitched the dog up, and when his guardians came to claim him, they agreed never to leave him outside unattended again. That is only one of my many fireworks-related rescues that leave me tense and sad around July 4.
It is vital that individuals and communities consider the danger to animals from both individual fireworks use and the large community displays. PETA’s caseworkers (staff members volunteer to respond to emergencies 24 hours a day, seven days a week) and animal shelters across the country will see a dramatic jump in stray dog and cat intake in the coming weeks.
Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors in advance of the holiday. I start hearing fireworks in the neighborhood weeks before the Fourth of July. Make them aware that the terror of fireworks will cause animals who’ve never left a yard to jump or go under a fence and flee in terror. Our cat and dog friends should be wearing tags, and it is a good idea to keep some music or a television playing inside the house to cover the noise of exploding fireworks and to draw the blinds and turn on lights to minimize the flash.
There’s not much we can do for our wildlife neighbors (can you imagine being a bird in a nest during this time?) but talk to humans we know and consider replacing fireworks displays with laser light shows or other entertainment.
Have you seen animals in distress because of fireworks, or do you have any tips on how to keep animal companions calm? Has anybody out there succeeded with canceling a fireworks display and replacing it with something less dangerous?
Posted to Family & Friends | Posted to Tags: alerts, Cats, Dogs, fireworks, Scott VanValkenburg
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Kris Lecakes Haley says...
July 3rd, 2009, 9:26 pm
This is an excellent post! Having experienced a shelter environment in several capacities, there was always one constant — intake numbers went through the roof the day after July 4th.
Animals subjected to the unexpected sounds and sights of fireworks and other explosives would break down fences, barrel through doors and windows and scale walls, just to escape the noise and fireworks. While i wish all companion animals lived indoors, if yours are outdoor animals, please check your outside gates. And consider, just this once, bringing and keeping your animals inside on the 4th, just until the festivities are over.
Also, early the morning of the 5th, walk the parameter of your back and front yards for any Independence Day ‘remnants.’ One year we found our dog playing with part of a cherry bomb the next morning.
Taking these few preventive moments, might just save their lives…
Roz says...
July 10th, 2009, 12:41 pm
Thanks for posting! I was dog-sitting for the 4th of July and saw, firsthand, what happens to a dog during a fireworks display. One of the dogs has serious problems with the fireworks, so his vet prescribed a dog version of Valium to help calm him down. It didn’t really work all that well. He was just more lethargic than usual, but he was still barking, jumping, pacing, panting, and exhibiting other signs of anxious behavior. The other dog cowered in corners and followed me around. I turned on all the lights in the house, closed the blinds, turned some fans on to keep the place cool (and provide some white noise) and sat on the floor with the dogs. I also sang to them. It calmed them down for the most part.